World Notes Japan

The immense wave of attention the U.S. has been devoting to the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor has made Japan nervous. Using language more specific than usual, Foreign Minister Michio Watanabe told the Washington Post, "We feel a deep remorse about the unbearable suffering and sorrow Japan inflicted on the American people and the peoples of Asia."

The surprise attack and the war in the Pacific, he added, resulted from "the reckless decision of our military." It was a particularly direct statement that went beyond the usual bland formula used by Japanese officials.

Watanabe said his country is not seeking "any kind of apology" from the U.S. for dropping atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But his views were not shared by conservatives in his own ruling party. They blocked a resolution in the Diet that would have apologized for the war because they were offended by President Bush's statement that the U.S. has no reason to apologize for using the bombs.